Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Bhratruhari Mahtab on Tuesday raised the issue of alleged Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violations by his former colleague in the party, Baijayant Panda, in the Lok Sabha and demanded to know the steps being taken by the Central government to probe the allegations.
Mr. Panda was suspended from the BJD last year. He resigned his Lok Sabha seat soon after, exiting the party as well.
Mr. Mahtab alleged that Mr. Panda, an Indian passport holder, along with his wife and family associates, had opened an account in tax haven Bahamas in violation of rules. “What steps have the Union government taken? Is it still at investigation stage? How long will it take to complete the investigation?” he said in the Lok Sabha during zero hour.
‘No offshore accounts’
Responding to the charges, Mr. Panda denied he had any offshore accounts. “I have no account in the Bahamas, neither do any of our family companies. For 60 years, various family companies have done business dealings all over the world, these are all through official channels and with intimation and approval of authorities concerned like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) etc and are in the public domain,” he said.